Ok next question...my horn does not work, it won't even push in when you push it. Looking at the AIM exploded diagram it says nothing about rivets. I see where it says there is a star screw and a couple of other screws. But...there are rivets in mine??? We can also see a couple of screws with tiny nuts on the back but how the heck do you get to those? According to the Chilton it shows 3 screws that you back out to remove...it doesn't say anything about any screws with nuts... Confused

 

well these always give people fits......the horn switch makes contact to ground and triggers a relay down by the brake pedal......often times the horn button always triggers to ground making the horn go off all the time. almost sounds like Bubba visited your steering wheel to fix this. i am guessing the horn relay is disconnected also.

i think i would look at all the vendor websites unitl you see the parts and know whats suppose to be there. then look and see how they modified yours. can you take some pictures of what you have ? that will help us help you. good luck bob

 

He has most definitely been in my steering wheel!!
You can see in the photo...I have a dang rivet. The two screws showing have little nuts on the back. They had to of used hemostats to hold the nuts on the back because it will be impossible to get to the back of them! I have to get this fixed because I have to have a horn....ya know for all those people who get in my dang way :-) haha just kidding no really I need a horn! :-)
Thanks for your help!!

 

Thinking about just drilling out the Bubba rivet

 

yes you have to drill the rivet out....ecklers has part number 38134 (69-74) for about $40 or 38135 (75-82) and replaces all the parts it will make your life much easier, also lower contact part 30869 76-82 if its missing.....you need to try grounding out the horn ring to see if the horn will work or not....my guess is that they either disconnected the horn relay or removed the spring contact point in the horn assembly.

 

Thanks bunches for all your help!

 

I hope you got your horn working rebelee08. I don't mean to hijack your thread but we both have similar problems. I've been working on mine for a few days. I've got all the manuals and all of my parts are there. I've got power at the horn relay and replaced it just to be sure that it wasn't the problem. I wondered if the car even had horns because the damn things are hidden up in the nose of my '81. My problem centers around the contact spring, contact and the button retainer that goes into the main hub. I think mine is not assembled correctly. I can't find a picture of the order of assembly. This has to be my problem. The horns each honk when I apply 12 volts to the connectors at each horn. Somebody please help. I've got to get this car inspected. If needed I will post a picture of the three parts that I am asking about.

 

Just found the Wilcox Corvette link on another thread. Set the contact in the order shown in the picture. Horn still not working but I've got it narrowed down to between the horn relay and the horn button.

 

I just bought a horn kit from Ecklers for my 72'. True mistake. It was made in china and worked well until I mounted the horn button. It blew continuously. Knowing my horn now worked, I then proceeded to take all the pieces including the plastic push in rivits of the original horn assembly apart and clean them all on a wire wheel. Turns out it must have rained in with the t-tops out at some point in it's life because rust was in between the assembly pieces. It was time a consuming effort but in the end I now have a horn that works with the way it was new with minimal effort while pushing the horn button. The next item to tackle is to add another horn. The single horn system is a disgrace to any Corvette. Anyone know what note the second horn should be?

 

Here is the blowup of your T&T steering column, upper horn parts, and telescope lock.

Let's try to understand the parts in your picture and the blowup.
The horn cap assembly consists of three parts. A plastic emblem #10, a die cast cap #11, and a metal retainer #9. The retainer is the real rusty part in your pic. These three parts are supposed to be all together and held by three die cast posts that extend down from the cap, through the emblem, and through the retainer. Those posts are supposed to be spun over to retain all three pieces. Obviously, your cap, emblem, and retainer are no longer one assembly. You must either purchase a new cap or try to cobble the three parts back together with JBWeld, tiny screws, etc.

The retainer on the bottom of your horn cap assembly is a snap fit into the upper horn contact #7. A lot of people just grab the horn cap assembly and try to yank it loose. A lot of people end up with two of the three cap assembly parts in their hand. That is why I recommend that you reach under the horn cap assembly with a small screwdriver blade and lever the retainer out of the contact without stressing the three fragile connection posts that hold the cap assembly together.

Now lets talk about the upper horn contact. When you press on the horn cap (to blow your horn) you are actually closing a small gap in the upper horn contact and creating a metal ground path for the horn relay. The upper contact actually consists of several parts. They are seperated such that there is not an electrical path from the top to the bottom of the contact. There are supposed to be three plastic rivets that hold the contact parts together yet prevent a ground path. So, yes, you have to drill out the rivet and remove that other two metal screws. The above listed rebuild kits should have the plastic rivets that you require.

Your picture tells me that wires have been cut or disconnected. Or possibly your horn relay is dead or disabled. Otherwise your Bubba modified upper horn contact would cause you horn to always blow.

Once you have the upper horn contact under control you will also have to figure out where Bubba then disconnected or removed some other critical part that prevents your horn from blowing. Here is a paper on horn operation diagnosis.
http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-co...v27OC20102.pdf
Good luck,
Just remember that additional help is only a computer message away.
Jim